(Inspired by my travels through South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, and even part of the way through Tanzania)

I love sleeping in random people's homes.
I love being welcomed into new friends' families.
I love watching crazy five-year-old Veronilda dance.
I love eating their food.

I love that all of my possessions
fit in two tiny tidy bags.
I love my two t-shirts,
my long-sleeved shirt,
my sweatshirt,
jacket,
gloves and scarf and winter hat,
two pairs of underwear,
swimsuit and khaki shorts,
ripped jeans,
and sweatpants the guy in Stilbaai gave me.
I love my Chinese bracelets
the girls in Laos gave me.
But, above all,
I love my round ceramic flute
with the face of a Siberian Mongolian built into it.

I love having all of my money
in my swimsuit pocket.
I love not having an ATM card
nor a GPS
nor a laptop
nor a worry
nor a boss.
I love not having a cell phone
but always having someone to talk to.

I love seeing baobabs for the first time.
I love grasping colorful images
with my camera
and with my mind.

I love it that females aren't the most important thing to me,
yet they still appear to enrich my life.
I love finding out that African women
are very accomodating,
live for romance,
and have wild bodies.
I love meeting people
who are unlike any I've met before.

I love hitchhiking.
I love it when it seems I'll never find a free ride,
and then someone picks me up.
I love overcoming challenges.
But, I also love resting
in my tent, when I'm tired.
I love making my way across
my map of Southern Africa.
I love swimming in dark waters.
I love selling stories on remote boulevards.
I love re-reading the thoughts in my "Book of Philosophy".
I love writing.